Family mourns father killed in snow plow crash

Family mourns father killed in snow plow crash

INDIANAPOLIS – A family is in shock, trying to cope with the sudden death of a single father of two. Donovan Snider died in a crash Wednesday at 65th Street and Allisonville Road.

Snider owned his own lawn care and snow removal business. His family said he’s been out all night the evening before working and likely fell asleep at the wheel.

Snider has two teenage boys. He had no insurance. Now his family is grieving and trying to decide how to pay for a funeral.

The cross at 65th Street and Allisonville Road signifies the site of a deadly crash and a moment marked in Christina Snider’s mind.

“I got the phone call saying they thought he was dead,” she said, “He was just, he was my best friend. Everybody who knew Donovan knew he always had a smile.”

Her brother Donovan was driving his snow plow when he ran a red light and crashed. Snider said he’d worked all night trying to keep up with the demands of clear lots from his customers.

“The night before he was out since 8 o’clock, the night before the accident,” said Snider.

Minutes before the wreck she said Donovan fell asleep in a parking lot. A police officer woke him up, and Donovan called his 17-year-old son Alex, then got back on the road. The decision proved deadly.

Snider said she knows families of other contractors face the same dangers.

“The money’s not worth it. They have to realize they’re not invincible,” she said.

Her family set up a Go-Fund-Me account trying to collect money for funeral expenses to bury the father of two, a man out working in the snow, braving the elements to make a living.

“He loved baseball, and he loved watching us play,” said his 14-year-old son Jacob.